Some days I feel like selling everything…

[a.noctilux]

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Can we know which is FOMO, which is GAS ?

Which one is better ? 😇

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[DavidJohn]

I can sure connect with this.

My first Leica was an extremely old M3 that i purchased while a student.  It was superb.

As life moved on, and I had an income, I traded it and purchased a new M4, and a 35 and 90 lens.  I used them all time, and got excellent images.

Then I got a used Leica R-something with a few lenses to add to my two camera bags.

Then, well, life started happening and there was a mortgage and children and some “real” jobs.  Photography was often moved to the back shelf.

After I while I was back into photography full-tilt.  I got a 4 x 5, a couple 2 1/4s, another Leica R, and traded the M4 for an M6.  And a couple tripods.

Well, too much stuff to carry around.  And, deciding which one to take became a big chore, and a difficult chore.  What if I brought the wrong camera/lens?  Soon, photography became a bit of a pain, and I sort-of let it go for a while.

Then I sold the 4 x 5, 2 1/4s, and the Leica R.

Ahhhh, relief.  Few decisions.  Now I had time to take pictures, instead of trying to figure out what heavy equipment to lug around.

Then I got into Fujis for a while, and quite liked them.

But, it just wasn’t pure photography for me.  They were very functional, affordable, and “got the picture” (unless you needed to crop a lot).

So, I traded them in, added a large amount of money, and purchased an M10.  It was where I wanted to be.  Back to pure photography.  And, well, after a few years, I traded it and upgraded to an M10-R, with only 2 lenses.

I don’t need to make equipment decisions.  I just grab my fairly small camera bag, and go out and shoot.  I intentionally purchased a Summicron for my 50, because it’s smaller and lighter weight.  Often I just wear it the camera, and don’t bother with the camera bag and second lens.

My focus is photography.  Pure photography.

I don’t shoot birds-in-flight, sports, or wild animals, so I don’t need a big telephoto.

I have arrived.  I’m back where I want to be.

Oh, one more thing.  As a retirement gift to myself a few months ago I got a Q2M.  Sublime camera.  I feel it’s exactly what Henri Cartier-Bresson or Oskar Barnack would have selected.

[erniethemilk]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, it’s comforting to know there’s plenty of others out there with similar thinking to my own 😂

For sure, the one constant is my M10-P will go nowhere… I love that machine!  I think it’s time I purged the rest and maybe put the funds into an M10M and live a happy, contented life. 

[WvE]

Try to resist looking at new gear all the time, at the end it is far more satisfying to go out and take pictures. Use your MP only and you'll get better at operating it (and miss less). 

[fisheess]

I sold everything except the M2 and XPAN, so that I can afford the M10R. No regret.

Sell them, and if you have any regrets they are always available to rebuy, often cheaper. So why not.

[fisheess]

Oh but don't sell anything Leica analogue or something like XPAN, it will be unbearable when the remorse comes.

[grahamc]

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10 hours ago, erniethemilk said:

Thanks for the thoughts everyone, it’s comforting to know there’s plenty of others out there with similar thinking to my own 😂

For sure, the one constant is my M10-P will go nowhere… I love that machine!  I think it’s time I purged the rest and maybe put the funds into an M10M and live a happy, contented life. 

“Just one more and I will stop”.  I know the feeling 👏😂😂 

 

[pgh]

21 hours ago, DavidJohn said:

Oh, one more thing.  As a retirement gift to myself a few months ago I got a Q2M.  Sublime camera.  I feel it’s exactly what Henri Cartier-Bresson or Oskar Barnack would have selected.

If it had a 50mm option...

Love the idea of the Q, hate the focal length. Cropping a 28mm isn't the same. Wish they'd take a Q from Ricoh and give us a "normal lens" version...

9 hours ago, fisheess said:

Oh but don't sell anything Leica analogue or something like XPAN, it will be unbearable when the remorse comes.

I've sold 2 M6's, 2 Contax G2's, a 501cm, Mamiya 6 and 7, and while they were great, I haven't missed any of them a bit. Fond memories and a tinge of nostalgia if I need to dig into the negatives but anything beyond that is just being overly precious about a medium and not the work itself - to my mind at least. 

[Mikep996]

I've bought/sold several Leicas back in the film era and I must admit that I miss the M6 sometimes.  BUT I KNOW that if I had it, I would never actually use it.  Film has no interest to me now so if I had the M6, it would just sit in a shelf and I'm not a collector.  I prefer having only one camera though, at the moment I have two - an M10R BP and (as of a couple of months ago) a Q2.   Although I said I'd prefer having only one camera, even if the Q2 became the only camera I ever used, the BP is just too pretty to sell!  

[DavidJohn]

18 hours ago, pgh said:

If it had a 50mm option...

Love the idea of the Q, hate the focal length. Cropping a 28mm isn't the same. Wish they'd take a Q from Ricoh and give us a "normal lens" version...

I've sold 2 M6's, 2 Contax G2's, a 501cm, Mamiya 6 and 7, and while they were great, I haven't missed any of them a bit. Fond memories and a tinge of nostalgia if I need to dig into the negatives but anything beyond that is just being overly precious about a medium and not the work itself - to my mind at least. 

If a Q comes out with a 50mm lens, I'll be the first in line to get one.  

[RexGig0]

On 7/31/2022 at 3:15 PM, DavidJohn said:

I can sure connect with this.

My first Leica was an extremely old M3 that i purchased while a student.  It was superb.

As life moved on, and I had an income, I traded it and purchased a new M4, and a 35 and 90 lens.  I used them all time, and got excellent images.

Then I got a used Leica R-something with a few lenses to add to my two camera bags.

Then, well, life started happening and there was a mortgage and children and some “real” jobs.  Photography was often moved to the back shelf.

After I while I was back into photography full-tilt.  I got a 4 x 5, a couple 2 1/4s, another Leica R, and traded the M4 for an M6.  And a couple tripods.

Well, too much stuff to carry around.  And, deciding which one to take became a big chore, and a difficult chore.  What if I brought the wrong camera/lens?  Soon, photography became a bit of a pain, and I sort-of let it go for a while.

Then I sold the 4 x 5, 2 1/4s, and the Leica R.

Ahhhh, relief.  Few decisions.  Now I had time to take pictures, instead of trying to figure out what heavy equipment to lug around.

Then I got into Fujis for a while, and quite liked them.

But, it just wasn’t pure photography for me.  They were very functional, affordable, and “got the picture” (unless you needed to crop a lot).

So, I traded them in, added a large amount of money, and purchased an M10.  It was where I wanted to be.  Back to pure photography.  And, well, after a few years, I traded it and upgraded to an M10-R, with only 2 lenses.

I don’t need to make equipment decisions.  I just grab my fairly small camera bag, and go out and shoot.  I intentionally purchased a Summicron for my 50, because it’s smaller and lighter weight.  Often I just wear it the camera, and don’t bother with the camera bag and second lens.

My focus is photography.  Pure photography.

I don’t shoot birds-in-flight, sports, or wild animals, so I don’t need a big telephoto.

I have arrived.  I’m back where I want to be.

Oh, one more thing.  As a retirement gift to myself a few months ago I got a Q2M.  Sublime camera.  I feel it’s exactly what Henri Cartier-Bresson or Oskar Barnack would have selected.

Wonderful story. I do recall, however, that Henri Cartier-Bresson had definite reasons for preferring 50mm, which he stated during an interview. (I do not recall seeing any Oscar Barnack writings.)

[DavidJohn]

I just did a quick google search—and you are quite correct.  Henri preferred a 50mm, except for landscapes sometimes.  

 

 

[Joop van Heijgen]

On 7/31/2022 at 12:30 PM, a.noctilux said:

See my post number four

Someone adviced me years ago something like "having the lens is not meaning to use it all-the-time" then he added "try to use only one lens at a time"

since then, I "live my photography" with better feeling of "zennitud" (with no torn-about-which-to-use).

Indeed use one type lens on a camera for a longer time. I do mostly use now the Super Angulon R21/4 on the R camera and you can better learn the possibilities of this lens combination. I think in fact with almost every lens/camera combination you can make all the pics you want to make.  You make your pics with your eyes and brains and the lens and camera are only the tools.

[Mikep996]

2 hours ago, DavidJohn said:

If a Q comes out with a 50mm lens, I'll be the first in line to get one.  

The reason I bought a Q2 was that for the past couple of years, my most used M lens was a 28mm, followed by the 50.  I almost never used my 90mm and used my 21 even less.  So it occurred to me that carrying an M10 with the 28 mounted was like carrying a heavy Q2 with a non-functioning auto focus!  So I decided to try "the real thing."

Obviously, focal length is very much a personal preference but I really like the 28mm.  I bought a 35mm for my M years ago because everybody said it was THE M lens.  I sold it a month later. IMO It's too narrow for a wide-angle and to wide for a standard.  28 and 50 became the only lenses I regularly carried with an M.  Later, just the 28!

[yanidel]

I can fully relate to your feeling.  In the end, too much choice just blurs my vision.  Over the last 3 months, I sold 5 lenses and my M9P. Mostly to finance a used a M10.  I have been shooting with the M9 for 13 years, so I guess the M10 will last a similar cycle. 

So I am left with Leica M10, 35mm Lux Asph and 60mm Konica Hexanon.

and Leica M8 with 24mm Elmarit and 50mm Cron as backup kit (or future gift for my kid if he feels interest in shooting.)  

Easy, no more brainstorming about which lens to take.

[Camaro5]

Earlier this year I did an inventory of what I was mostly using and what I really needed.  I used to have the philosophy that it's better to have and not need it than to not have it and wish you did.  That led to having a lot of stuff that rarely got used and a lot of cash sitting on the shelf.  On the digital side, I ended up paring down to just a Q2 and M10-R with 21 SEM, 35 FLE, and an 80-200-R.   Still have a mint R4s Mod II and a Summicron 50/2 (Ver I) for film, but don't use it as much as I should.  

I look at gear almost every day and not a day goes by that I don't wonder if there's something better out there.  There probably is, I'm sure, but combining the cost of making changes plus liking what I have I've kept my finger off the "Buy Now" button.  For now.  

[Cthulhu]

On 7/29/2022 at 10:06 PM, erniethemilk said:

Apart from my M10-P & the couple of lenses I have for it. 

Unless you’re doing this professionally, I don’t think anyone needs more than this.  My lens rule is “never more than 2”. And my only body is the M10R. The last body I’ll ever buy. 
 

Maybe if I have money burning a hole in my pocket I’ll replace the Ultron II 28mm with an Elmarit or maybe a Summaron for fun, but I will get rid of the Ultron. Never more than 2 at a time. I don’t need things collecting dust on a shelf. 

[DefAtom]

I can totally relate to your feelings. Currently, I own a Leica M6, 2 Rolleiflex cameras, 1 Rollei 35s, and several mirrorless cameras for video photography and macro photography. Wow, what a mess! When I go traveling, I only shoot with my Leica. After going through the posts, I'm contemplating trading in all the cameras except the M6 for a digital Leica. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I just feel like it's time to make some changes.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[KFo]

The only camera system I've ever pared down, and that was all the way to zero was my Fuji system.  I did that to partially fund and commit to the move to Leica.  The Fuji system was like a microwave or a Toyota; functional, gets the job done but I didn't love using it so it was easy to get rid of.

Leica: M10P, 5 28s, and 5 35s (my preferred focal lengths) and few other boundary lenses 21, 50, 90, 135, 180.  The boundary lenses were picked up for particular intentions, projects you might say.

I have no trouble choosing a lens and tend to use one in particular for long periods of time.  I have no regrets whatsoever about the lenses that stay in the cabinet because I know they'll come back into use again.  Or not, I don't actually care.

I enjoy photography in this mode.  One thing that has really improved my enjoyment is not carrying a camera all the time.  I only go out out with the Leica when I have an intention in mind (and this includes when traveling).

I have a couple of other options which get used occasionally: Olympus XA (satisfies deviant film urges I get), and Ricoh GRII for the ultimate lightweight.  Same thing thing though, never even considered getting rid of them just because I don't use them all the time.

Does your feeling come from "tying up so much..." money, cognitive overhead, space, ...?

[THEME]

I usually try a camera brand / system for some time, then sell the whole lot and move to another one. The move to Leica should break that circle... quality should be holding up for quite a while, and while there'll be more pixels and even higher ISO sensitivity, a look back at good old classic photography demonstrates that a pushed noisy Ilford could deliver great results. So hope to have found my gear, most limited temptations to look elsewhere with no need to succumb to FOMO. But of course, shiny new gear will always be tempting, yet in the end in most cases makes hardly any difference.